Looking for TABLE and Racket Recommendations - Casual but Competative!

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Hey all. I am going to be in the market soon for a table tennis table and rackets. I am not a pro player - but would certainly consider myself competitive, and would like a table that I can get better on and still use if I do actually make progress.

The location is in Canada - so I found some links for tables on Amazon canada.

First: What are some recommendations for Rackets? What are some of the best pre-made rackets (not into cutting my own rubber yet). Is there spray for stick too?

Second: Here are the tables I was considering. Any thoughts on which one may be a better get? (I can't post links yet, so this is as close as I can get - all of these are on Amazon Canada)

Stiga-T8522-62-Inch-6-75-Inch-230-Pounds

Butterfly-T2325S-Europa-Tennis-Table

JOOLA-Tour-Indoor-Table-Tennis
 
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Those tables will all be fine but why not support the sport by getting one from a local (or at least national) table tennis store? Then you can ask them to make you up a couple of beginner friendly bats to go with the table and these will be much more fun than any premade bat.

Otherwise, having your own table but no decent bats is a bit like having your own racetrack but only a tricycle to use on it; it would be fun but you'd be missing out on what it was actually made for.
 
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says MIA
says MIA
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Hey all. I am going to be in the market soon for a table tennis table and rackets. I am not a pro player - but would certainly consider myself competitive, and would like a table that I can get better on and still use if I do actually make progress.The location is in Canada - so I found some links for tables on Amazon canada.First: What are some recommendations for Rackets? What are some of the best pre-made rackets (not into cutting my own rubber yet). Is there spray for stick too?Second: Here are the tables I was considering. Any thoughts on which one may be a better get? (I can't post links yet, so this is as close as I can get - all of these are on Amazon Canada)Stiga-T8522-62-Inch-6-75-Inch-230-PoundsButterfly-T2325S-Europa-Tennis-TableJOOLA-Tour-Indoor-Table-Tennis
The Butterfly table (professional ITTF tournament table, one of the best out there, 25mm top with amazing rebound, very sturdy) is significantly better than the other two, second comes the Stiga, then the Joola. They're all probably fine for your needs, depends what you're looking for (top, frame, wheels, fold, price...), and how much you're looking to invest into the sport in the future (do you plan to play at a club with higher level players or competitively in TTCAN tournaments or leagues?). Most of us here have been playing for years but never had a table at home (I just got a used one recently with a robot as a supplement and I use it for serves training here and there), we mostly play/train at a club, compete in leagues or tournaments or not, some of us take lessons with coaches, so clubs and training is where we invest most of our time and money. It's nice having a table at home, but you might not use it that much after a while, and you might make more/better use of going to a TT club with great infrastructure, competition, players of all level challenging and helping you to get better. Just something to think about.

Also, like Sofa implied, investing in a good racket is in itself more important than what table you buy. Just about any table is playable, that's not really the case for paddles, they can be really crappy and impede on your progress, that's the case for most premades, and they often cost as much if not more as a good custom built setup, that TT stores can glue for you free of charge. We can give you proper advice on what to buy if you give us a little more background info: how long you've been playing, in what setting (club/friend's/school/work/bar...), what racket you've been playing with, how comfortable you are with forehand and backhand topspins, flicks, attacking/lifting/topspinning backspin...

 
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I will be going back to Canada this summer - and will be subject to the 14 day quarantine. So delivery is extremely important.

I am not against a good racket for myself - but I will mainly be playing with my kids until the quarantine is lifted and I can play against others.

So I would like a 'set' of rackets that anyone casually playing can grab and use - but not have them be terrible.

I don't have great finesse yet, mostly forehand power with a little (terrible) backhand spin when I get defensive. I have historically played with flat rubber (no dimples).
 
says MIA
says MIA
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Nov 2016
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I will be going back to Canada this summer - and will be subject to the 14 day quarantine. So delivery is extremely important.

I am not against a good racket for myself - but I will mainly be playing with my kids until the quarantine is lifted and I can play against others.

So I would like a 'set' of rackets that anyone casually playing can grab and use - but not have them be terrible.

I don't have great finesse yet, mostly forehand power with a little (terrible) backhand spin when I get defensive. I have historically played with flat rubber (no dimples).
Pretty much all pre-made rackets are terrible and cost the same and sometimes more than good custom setups that a store will glue for you for free. Pre-mades are a waste of money and will not allow you to develop more finesse or much of anything else, and you'll probably end up buying better custom ones later anyway. Plus, when the rubbers are used on a custom, they're easily changeable or upgradable while the wood can last a lifetime, so you're putting your investment to good use and saving money once again.

How many rackets are you looking to buy? 2, more? What's your budget for each?

This is a good setup for $50-60 USD, they will glue it for free:
https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/yasaka-sweden-extra
https://www.tabletennis11.com/other_eng/friendship-729-fx

Better yet, Cole's Table Tennis can make you great custom rackets for $20-30 each:
http://www.colestt.com/index.php
You can shoot him an email and he can tailor something to your needs, or you can pick from his selection like the Buster Combo for example.

 
Last edited:
Hey all. I am going to be in the market soon for a table tennis table and rackets. I am not a pro player - but would certainly consider myself competitive, and would like a table that I can get better on and still use if I do actually make progress.

The location is in Canada - so I found some links for tables on Amazon canada.

First: What are some recommendations for Rackets? What are some of the best pre-made rackets (not into cutting my own rubber yet). Is there spray for stick too?

Second: Here are the tables I was considering. Any thoughts on which one may be a better get? (I can't post links yet, so this is as close as I can get - all of these are on Amazon Canada)

Stiga-T8522-62-Inch-6-75-Inch-230-Pounds

Butterfly-T2325S-Europa-Tennis-Table

JOOLA-Tour-Indoor-Table-Tennis

For me the Butterfly Europa 25 is the best choise.

In my club we have Andro tables, BTY Centrefold 25 and BTY Europa 25 tables.

For me Europa are better, even better than Centrefold, though cheaper.

I don't like Joola tables at all. They are the most sensitive to different balls and lack the consistency of BTY tables.

 
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